Thesaurus results for HEADSMAN

headsman

noun

Definition of headsman

as in executioner

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of headsman Two other men, subjects of excellent Holbein drawings in the show, would keep appointments with the headsman. — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022 Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives. — Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021 The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland. — Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017 Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet. — David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012

Recent Examples of Synonyms for headsman

Noun

She was executed on May 27, 1541 by an executioner’s assistant, the executioner having been called away that day.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
In 2003 the United States topples Hussein and delivers him to his executioners.

— Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2026

Definition of executioner

Noun

The former cop also claimed to have found a hangman’s noose under Epstein’s mattress.

— Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 16 June 2026
Even-handed, compassionate, and as suffocatingly tense as a hangman's noose, Munich is Spielberg's most underrated film.

— Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2026

Definition of hangman

Noun

This psychological thriller stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man with anterograde amnesia struggling to track down his wife’s murderer using a system of tattoos and notes.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
The voice cast is a murderer's row of famous Australians, including Sarah Snook, Eric Bana, and Nick Cave.

— Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 1 July 2026

Definition of murderer

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headships

headsman

headsmen

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“Headsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headsman. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of headsman

noun

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